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Persistent Illusions by Joseph Devon
In Probability Angels, we were introduced to the world of Matthew and Epp. Back then, Matthew thought he had his hands full just learning how to be an undead tester of humanity, but then Hector staged an uprising and everything Matthew thought he could take for granted fell apart. Yet, over the past few months, a strained peace has settled over his world and Matthew is starting to feel like he can finally get back to training at his usual New York haunts. However, things are more fragile than they appear. Nobody can see the stress lines already clawing away at the new peace. Nobody has guessed the toll that was taken on those at the forefront of their war. And, when a new tester wakes up with the power to possibly unravel the universe...well that's when things really start to get interesting. Come see how a zombie can protect and serve, a photographic memory can earn you a permanent place on Mount Everest, and a teenage drug addict can hold everyone's fate in her nail-bitten fingers.
- GenresFantasy
Paperback
First published April 26, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 19, 2011
From Persistent Illusions...
In fact, in Joseph Devon's vision of the after-life it appears we have to put up with the same disappointments, struggles and betrayals that we deal with in our mortal life. In a way, it is disturbingly reassuring.
Persistent Illusions is the sequel to Devon's outstanding Probability Angels. The first book mainly centers around Matthew and his mentor Epps. Matthew chooses to spend his afterlife as a tester, a not-quite-angelic entity that "pushes" humans toward their full potential. This is an act that is often more perilous for the tester than the human. The first half of the novel is sort of an afterlife coming of age tale for Matthew but it soon morphs into an epic good vs. evil battle between the testers and zombie like creatures who feed off of the tester's energy. In my review of the first book, I said something to the effect that it was nice to read a book by a young writer that didn't need a sequel. Little did I know at the time that the author had a trilogy in mind! The author was nice enough to send me a copy of the second book, Persistent Illusions.
So should a sequel have been written? Absolutely! For Devon took the his original idea and made it a much more original and complex alternative universe in which there are good zombies, bad zombies, good testers, testers who deal with a lot of ambivalence, and a few other creatures that fit in-between somewhere. Matthew and Epps steps into the background a bit even though they remain essential, but Devon makes up for this by developing lots of three dimensional characters that move the novel into new areas. The author has a gift for managing a large cast and weaving a number of plots together in a fantastical tapestry. The story goes from Mount Everest to the Mexican Desert and to New York, among other places, without skipping a beat and all the while pulling the reader into this involving tale of after-life deceits and betrayals. This is one of most original fantasy stories I've read in a long time and should please all readers of various types of fantasies. I am quite happy that both novels have complete ending and stand on their own. But I take back what I said before and I say in my best Oliver Twist accent, "More Please!"
It would seem," Epps answered, staring across the mirror over the bar, "that immortality is not all it's cracked up to be."
In fact, in Joseph Devon's vision of the after-life it appears we have to put up with the same disappointments, struggles and betrayals that we deal with in our mortal life. In a way, it is disturbingly reassuring.
Persistent Illusions is the sequel to Devon's outstanding Probability Angels. The first book mainly centers around Matthew and his mentor Epps. Matthew chooses to spend his afterlife as a tester, a not-quite-angelic entity that "pushes" humans toward their full potential. This is an act that is often more perilous for the tester than the human. The first half of the novel is sort of an afterlife coming of age tale for Matthew but it soon morphs into an epic good vs. evil battle between the testers and zombie like creatures who feed off of the tester's energy. In my review of the first book, I said something to the effect that it was nice to read a book by a young writer that didn't need a sequel. Little did I know at the time that the author had a trilogy in mind! The author was nice enough to send me a copy of the second book, Persistent Illusions.
So should a sequel have been written? Absolutely! For Devon took the his original idea and made it a much more original and complex alternative universe in which there are good zombies, bad zombies, good testers, testers who deal with a lot of ambivalence, and a few other creatures that fit in-between somewhere. Matthew and Epps steps into the background a bit even though they remain essential, but Devon makes up for this by developing lots of three dimensional characters that move the novel into new areas. The author has a gift for managing a large cast and weaving a number of plots together in a fantastical tapestry. The story goes from Mount Everest to the Mexican Desert and to New York, among other places, without skipping a beat and all the while pulling the reader into this involving tale of after-life deceits and betrayals. This is one of most original fantasy stories I've read in a long time and should please all readers of various types of fantasies. I am quite happy that both novels have complete ending and stand on their own. But I take back what I said before and I say in my best Oliver Twist accent, "More Please!"
November 27, 2016
First things first - Persistent Illusions is the sequel to Probability Angels (The Matthew and Epp Stories). If you haven't read Probability Angels, there's no way you're going to be able to follow this book. Heck, I had a tough time with it and I did read the first book!
In Probability Angels, Joseph Devon introduced us to a group of characters who, instead of moving on after their deaths, stuck around to push humans to greater levels of achievement. These "testers" have to accomplish their work under constant threat of another group of undead known as "rotted things," whose main goal is to, well, eat the Testers. They all exist on a level above (or just beyond) our world, so they're invisible to the rest of us while they wage their war.
In Persistent Illusions, the gang from Probability Angels is back, but much worse for wear. Everyone from the most experienced Tester to the least powerful Rotted Thing seems to be going through some existential (post-existential?) crisis, and nobody seems to know what they're doing most of the time. The story is loosely centered on the discovery of a human with so much potential that he becomes a prize of sorts for both factions, and one that involves time travel, invisible prisons, super-zombies and wedding receptions.
Honestly, as much as I enjoyed Probability Angels, Persistent Illusions was a tough book to get into. The story took a long time to really get rolling, and the characters I remembered from the first book - even the ones that the series is named after - seemed like secondary players this time around. Devon introduces some interesting concepts, his dialogue is sharp and once things start happening, they happen on a grand scale. It just seemed like a bumpy road getting to that point. Still, it's a good story overall, and it's definitely good to see the concepts presented in Probability Angels continuing.
In Probability Angels, Joseph Devon introduced us to a group of characters who, instead of moving on after their deaths, stuck around to push humans to greater levels of achievement. These "testers" have to accomplish their work under constant threat of another group of undead known as "rotted things," whose main goal is to, well, eat the Testers. They all exist on a level above (or just beyond) our world, so they're invisible to the rest of us while they wage their war.
In Persistent Illusions, the gang from Probability Angels is back, but much worse for wear. Everyone from the most experienced Tester to the least powerful Rotted Thing seems to be going through some existential (post-existential?) crisis, and nobody seems to know what they're doing most of the time. The story is loosely centered on the discovery of a human with so much potential that he becomes a prize of sorts for both factions, and one that involves time travel, invisible prisons, super-zombies and wedding receptions.
Honestly, as much as I enjoyed Probability Angels, Persistent Illusions was a tough book to get into. The story took a long time to really get rolling, and the characters I remembered from the first book - even the ones that the series is named after - seemed like secondary players this time around. Devon introduces some interesting concepts, his dialogue is sharp and once things start happening, they happen on a grand scale. It just seemed like a bumpy road getting to that point. Still, it's a good story overall, and it's definitely good to see the concepts presented in Probability Angels continuing.
July 8, 2011
I was worried whether this would have the same ramp-up and then let-down as the previous book in the series. Thankfully, that wasn't an issue.
Really, my only gripe was with the character names for two of the major female characters in the book. "Calliope" I could begrudgingly accept. People name their kids all sorts of weird stuff these days, but at least that is from Greek mythology (she's a muse). It was fitting for the character, so... fine. But what girl would be named "Harpo"? Not even the biggest Groucho Marx fan would name their kid that. It took me out of the story every time I saw it. Early on, I actually assumed it was a nickname assigned to her before they had more information, but... nope. UGH. Bad call, Mr. Devon. That was a very sucky name choice.
Overall, it was an enjoyable continuation of what started with Probability Angels. There were a few typos on my Kindle edition, but nothing major. Hopefully no one has found them all yet, so I can at least get a couple free books out of it from the author ;)
Really, my only gripe was with the character names for two of the major female characters in the book. "Calliope" I could begrudgingly accept. People name their kids all sorts of weird stuff these days, but at least that is from Greek mythology (she's a muse). It was fitting for the character, so... fine. But what girl would be named "Harpo"? Not even the biggest Groucho Marx fan would name their kid that. It took me out of the story every time I saw it. Early on, I actually assumed it was a nickname assigned to her before they had more information, but... nope. UGH. Bad call, Mr. Devon. That was a very sucky name choice.
Overall, it was an enjoyable continuation of what started with Probability Angels. There were a few typos on my Kindle edition, but nothing major. Hopefully no one has found them all yet, so I can at least get a couple free books out of it from the author ;)
May 18, 2011
The first book is undoubtedly one of my favorites of all times - the second one is not disappointing so far....
October 19, 2014
I zipped right through this book and moved on to another, finished that and now I am reading landline already! just a reading machine these days
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews